Pyeongchang Games lack buzz in South Korea, but plans are on track

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This photo taken Feb. 4, 2017 shows the snow sculpture shaped of the Olympic rings at the town of Hoenggye, near the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies for the upcoming Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.(Photo11: JUNG YEON-JE, AFP/Getty Images)

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The air is crisp and the scent of pine is unmistakable in this picturesque mountain resort town of 43,000, located about 120 miles from Seoul. Since the country’s first ski resort opened here some 40 years ago, it’s been the center of South Korea’s small but growing winter sports culture.

Now this sleepy town is getting ready for a major turn in the spotlight, as Pyeongchang and the nearby city of Gangneung (pop. 230,000) prepare to welcome thousands of athletes, spectators and media for the Winter Olympics, which will be held Feb. 9-25, and the Paralympics, which begin 12 days later.

But there’s a lack of local buzz around these Games, and concerns are mounting about sluggish ticket sales and relations with menacing next-door neighbor North Korea.

In terms of preparations, no one can accuse the Pyeongchang Games of having the troubles of the last Olympic host. Rio de Janeiro rushed to finish venues, housing and infrastructure before hosting the 2016 Summer Games. Several of the venues were falling apart within months, and a federal prosecutor recently dismissed the Games as having “no planning.”

Pyeongchang also offers a stark contrast to Sochi, the Russian host city which spent a staggering $51 billion on the 2014 Winter Games. The budget for Pyeongchang is coming in at roughly $12.6 billion, according to organizers. The operations budget has risen by about half a billion dollars since initial estimates, but that is largely due to the increase in sporting events. The initial budget accounted for the 86 events that were contested at the 2010 Games. There will be 102 Olympic events next winter.

Construction of venues and infrastructure are progressing as planned. So organizers are doing a good job of building and planning for the Games, but will anyone care?

Until very recently, the Games have been overshadowed by political scandals that rocked the country and led to the impeachment and arrest of President Park Geun-hye in March. Dozens of business leaders have also been swept up in a wide-ranging corruption and influence-peddling scheme.

The cloud hovered over Olympic preparations as well, with reports that organizers were pressured to award contracts to firms linked with an associate of President Park.

But Lee Hee-beom, head of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, said a thorough review of all contracts was conducted and everything has remained above board.

“While Pyeongchang might have been a target of such corruption, I can tell you that no such attempts actually materialized,” he told reporters in January.

The Olympic Plaza will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.(Photo11: Lee Jin-man, AP)

A delegation from the International Olympic Committee was satisfied with the preparations when it visited in March, bringing IOC President Thomas Bach to declare, “I trust Korea, and I trust Koreans 100 percent.”

All 12 competition venues have hosted test events. Construction is also on track for athletes’ and media villages and major new infrastructure projects that will serve the two event clusters. A high-speed rail line, which will bring visitors from Seoul to Pyeongchang in just 69 minutes (half the current travel time), is being tested and is slated to be open to the public before the end of the year.

And while Rio has been stuck with costly white elephants, Pyeongchang organizers have strong legacy plans. Currently 10 of the competition venues have owners in place after the Games, and many have been designed for year-round use. The landing area of the ski-jump facility, for instance, is a soccer pitch currently being used by a local professional team, while cross-country and biathlon venues have been built onto golf courses.

Still the impact of national scandals has left a mark, from a business standpoint and by how the Games have been perceived.

“I’d be lying if I said we haven’t been affected at all,” said Nancy Park, a spokesperson for the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee. “That dark cloud ... what it does affect is the excitement. It also affected our sponsorship sales – sponsors were a little reluctant to do a lot of promotional activities because you don’t want to be associated with it.”

Organizers aimed for sponsorship targets of 940 billion Korean won ($830 million), but came in below their target of 90% by the end of 2016. They now say that figure has increased to about 94% after several sponsors have signed on this year.

Public enthusiasm for the Games, however, has remained muted. Organizers had anticipated selling up to 600,000 tickets in the first phase of sales, held on a lottery system, but only received 384,000 applications. Until now, about 160,000 tickets have been allocated domestically. Overall 1.18 million tickets will be made available, and sales will open again in September.

A survey taken in April by the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism found that only 35.6% of Koreans were interested in the Olympics.

That mood was echoed by many on the street in Seoul, the capital city of 25 million people.

High-school student Gong Sang-hyuk, 16, said that the Olympics aren’t a hot topic among his friends.

“There’s not much interest,” he said through a translator. “It’s a waste of money, a one-season thing. After winter, no one will ever go back [to Pyeongchang]. The taxes that go to the Winter Olympics should be spent on something else, like health or welfare. “

Sang Lee, a photographer based in Seoul, also said that the country’s focus is better spent on more pressing matters.

“We have a lot of political and social issues to solve right now,” he said. “The government doesn’t have enough money, and we’re struggling right now with a number of crises.”

Politically, tensions with North Korea have been escalating in recent months. North Korea has launched a number of missile tests since the beginning of the year, and the U.S. sent a pair of aircraft carrier groups into waters near the Korean Peninsula. The border with North Korea is only 50 miles away from the Olympic sites.

Jung Jae-min, marketing coordinator for the Korean Tourism Organization’s Los Angeles office, said concerns about North Korea have been common among Americans interested in traveling to Pyeongchang for the Olympics. But he said that interest is growing as the Games get closer.

“They were asking us a lot about [North Korea] before,” said Jung. “But that’s been reduced, and more people are asking about how to buy advance tickets now.”

Optimism also reigns among organizers that the corner has been turned on the political scandals at home and many hope that President Moon Jae-in, who is seen as more liberal, will help thaw relations with North Korea.

Choi Moon-Soon, governor of Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang is located, said that the election of President Moon will offer a fresh start for the Games.

“I would like to make it as a turning point from all of these issues overshadowing us,” he said. “The new president is very enthusiastic about the Olympics. He would like to use the Olympics as diplomacy for political issues within Korea, China, Japan and the U.S. as well. We would like to make this a peaceful moment, gathering together the leaders from all these countries.”

Ordinary citizens hope the Olympics can provide a boost for a country that has endured a tumultuous stretch.

“Because of current political issues and scandals, the national status has gone down for a bit,” said Seoul resident Park Kyung-ho, 83, through a translator. “I hope the Games will bring up the spirit and image of Koreans, lift the morale. The Seoul Olympics (in 1988) were a great opportunity for Korea to be known to the world. I hope to see same results at Pyeongchang.”